We all know how tedious the editing process can get. Once you reach the final page of your novel, your mind automatically thinks - what's next? And then you remember...EDITING! Unless of course you have an editor that will do all the boring stuff for you, but I myself do not. I prefer to have full control over my stories and novels by writing them, editing them and even marketing them myself. So, how exactly can we make the editing process that bit more bearable?
Why is editing so hated anyway?
The thing with editing is, you know you have to do it. Some may feel the same way about writing their novel when they're more than halfway through and they keep pushing themselves to keep writing knowing they just aren't in the mood. Sometimes, we pressure ourselves into writing more of our novel even when we aren't really feeling it. Just because we have told people that the next novel is coming and they get excited (making us even more excited) and you just want to see the finished product. But editing just hits differently and this is coming from someone who actually does editing for a living! But there is a stern difference between a client asking me to edit their work and then editing my own. Maybe we hate editing our own work because we already think its perfect? We remember that feeling of finishing the novel and writing the last word and it already feels completely finished? Who knows! I just know that I put editing my novels off a lot longer than I probably should...
How do you force yourself to edit when you don't want to?
A lot of people in the past (fans and clients) have asked how I managed to edit my own novels as well as write them. It's simple really. I know what I want my novel to sound and feel like. Therefore, I am the best person to edit my work. Sure having an editor is great but they are not me! They don't know the atmosphere that I want to set in my novel. It's also great for self improvement! Admitting you are wrong sometimes helps your writing to improve. But when my mind is trying to convince me not to edit and keep putting it off, I try to see it differently. Instead of thinking 'right it's time to edit my novel this is the boring bit, I hate it,' I try to think 'instead of seeing it as editing, I will pretend that I am the first person to read this novel once it's published. I will see it through the eyes of my readers and see what they would want to change.' Thinking in this way helps me to power through all ill feelings of editing. Yes, it does take me months on end to edit even just a 10 chapter story but it's better than never getting the editing done - like ever! I also think the quicker I get this editing done and get my novel to perfection, the quicker it can be published!
Editing is a chance to refine your work - not completely change it.
Some people struggle with editing because they don't fully understand what they should be editing within their novel/work. It leads people to overthink and try and change almost everything about their novel. They go into a panicked state where they suddenly believe that everything that they have written somehow isn't good enough for the public to see. NO! DO NOT DO THIS! Only massively change your novel if you read it from your audiences' perspective and believe it's not interesting enough or the story doesn't flow well or even that the characters are too flat. But make sure you have a strong justification as to why you are changing so much of your novel. Because remember, when you wrote the first draft of the novel, you believed your work to be great so you must have liked it back then.
Refine means alter and make things better not completely change your writing style and even the main story line. Overthinking is a dangerous trap for a writer. Overthinking your ability to write well can in fact, destroy your piece. Be very careful when editing and don't be afraid to ask for help! Perhaps not with the editing itself (if you are editing it yourself) but when you make a change that you are not sure of, ask a family member or friend which they prefer - the original or the new version. Usually a second opinion will bring you out of your own mind and clarify things for you. But it is important with editing to go with your instincts! As a writer, you will know what sounds better.
What exactly should you be editing?
This is different for each writer, but there is a general rule. I prefer to keep it simple and use highlighters to remind myself where changes have been made. I have a different highlighter colour for different things. For example, I use yellow for grammatical errors. I use pink for typos and so on and so forth. You need to avoid taking the lazy option - always be thorough. Go through it more than once if it helps you to really focus on what you are reading and to double check any possible mistakes. But it is not just your spelling and punctuation that you should be looking out for when reading it back for the first time...
There may be certain sections in your novel that you weren't sure about when you first wrote them. So you would double check the original to make sure you really didn't like it, and then you would change it to something more suitable. Check out the example below:
Original: "She had suspected him for a while but there was a burning sensation in her chest whenever she got close to him. She was too afraid to confront him."
Refined: "She had convinced herself that he was in fact a suspect. It was a thought that had entangled her brain cells for quite some time. But there was something stopping her from confronting him, something dark and mysterious. Her chest ached and burned whenever her eyes locked with his. She loved to feel the fear that he inflicted upon her."
Some would say that this type of editing is bad. This is mainly because you have taken words away and replaced them with a lengthy description, making your word count larger and going against your first instincts when you wrote it. But most of the time with creative writing, adding description is absolutely necessary if you want to keep your readers hooked all the way through. Your description can help to set the correct atmosphere and even give the read an 'off' feeling that something isn't 'quite right' about a character or a situation. So, take extra care when choosing to abandon a small section and make it into a larger one because it can either go incredibly well and keep your readers wanting to read more, or it can completely throw your writing off balance and ruin the whole thing (that's right - even a small section going wrong can ruin the whole book! So take care with each editing decision that you make!)
So, you have the first completed (and edited) draft...what now?
There is no rule on this at all. But personally, I like to leave my finished edited novel for at least a few weeks before looking at it again. That way, it gives you time to reflect on the parts that you have already edited. You can also give yourself time to think if there is anything else that you want to add in. Looking at an edited piece with fresh eyes is always the best idea. It stops you from overthinking the changes that you have made or deciding to scrap the whole novel completely. I once did that myself! I was 10 years old and I had just written a 60,000 word novel named 'Trapped' which was about a flu virus breaking out in a hotel and people turning into strange creatures overnight (thinking back it wasn't very original at all or even well written) but at the time, I was impressed.
Once it got to the editing stage, I completely blanked. I felt so overwhelmed about editing all of those words that I threw my manuscript in the bin and deleted the document from my computer. Even though it doesn't feel much like a loss now as I'm older and wiser and I have published and written novels that are miles better, I did regret it for a few years afterwards. It taught me to not give in so easily when faced with literary challenges. I now edit my novels freely without feeling too overwhelmed. But don't forget - writing, editing and publishing a novel can be intimidating at times! So don't give up and put yourself down if you do get overwhelmed with the process. Just don't forget to enjoy the writing part at least! (Because it's the fun part...)
That is all for today. I am hoping to keep this blog more up to date now that the festivities are over. My next blog post is going to include excerpts from my 3rd novel in progress. They will be EXCLUSIVE to this website only! I am, as always, more than happy for comments and suggestions on any blog post. Thank you so much for reading and I hope I have helped! :)
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